Under My Skin
by SevviesMistress
Summary: I'M BACK! For the new teaching term, Severus meets a new young woman that's taking the Arithmacy posistion. But the woman in question is more than she appears to be. Rated R for later chapters. R
1. Drinking With Teachers

Under My Skin

Disclaimer: Why do you have to remind me that I'm not JK Rowling, nor do I own her lovely people!

**A/N: This idea has kind of been playing around in my head... and it was just screaming to be written, especially when I try to fall asleep! Hope you enjoy. Reviews make me update a lot faster. I'M LOOKING FOR A BETA FOR THIS STORY! Anyone interested? E-mail me. On with the story... **

Chapter 1

As Severus Snape was being forcefully pushed in the Three Broomsticks by Minerva McGonagall, he began to wonder what his life had really come down to. It had been years since he had to answer to Voldemort, since the war was won in Potter's seventh year. So no more Dark Lord, no more Potter and company, and he didn't even have to stay with Albus Dumbledore, if he truly didn't want to. But, alas, fate kept him at Hogwarts to teach because he had no where else he'd rather be at the moment.

He was a much more happier fellow, but not the nicest in the castle by all means. He was no longer the "greasy bat", but he was still rather harsh on all the dunderheads that kept magically appearing every year. It was a wonder that _anyone_ he had been teaching lately would be smart enough to make it to their next year. Which was why he was going to the Three Broomsticks with Minerva and Hagrid.

"Well, if you stop being such a baby, Severus Snape, you would get out of here a lot quicker," yelled Minerva over the hustle and bustle of the pub. She directed the two men to a rather big booth in the back where there was less noise. As it was summer holidays, there was more adults than children, so Severus didn't nessecarily feel he needed to get away from the crowd.

"I'm not being a baby, _Minerva McGonagall_. Now, please. I do not have any stress put upon my shoulders at the moment, and would like very much so if I continued to have none," he replied with an aura of sophistication. McGonagall rolled her eyes at him as they sat down in the large booth and called for Madame Rosemerta.

"Professors!" Rosemerta exclaimed as she reached the booth. "Why, I haven't seen you in ages, Professor Snape. How's it going?" she batted her eyelashes at the dark man and he raised a thin eyebrow. Noticing this, McGonagall replied with a smirk, "We're all doing fine, Rosemerta. I'll have a dry cider."

"Pimms an' lemonade fer me, ma'am," said Hagrid.

"Shot of whiskey, please," Severus said. Rosemerta smiled and went back to the bar to return the drinks. While waiting, McGonagall brought up the topic of the small staff at Hogwarts.

"I mean, honestly, _three_ teachers all retired this past year! Albus will probably never find new teachers by next term!"

"Wha'? Who all leff?" Hagrid asked as his Pimms and lemonade was brought to him, as well Severus's whiskey and McGonagall's cider.

"Please tell me that you have noticed a shortage in our staff? Professor Verret left, the D.A.D.A. teacher, you great oaf!" Severus added as a dumbfounded Hagrid stared back at him. "As well as Madame Hooch and Professor Vector." He downed his whiskey in one gulp. Now he remembered why he never went drinking with the great brute in front of him.

"Oh," came the lame reply. "Don' blame me!" he added with a huff. "Gawd knows I haven' been in tha castle fer months! Been too busy wit' all them creatures I got back there."

"_Anyway,"_ continued McGonagall, "I wonder who Albus'll get for the teaching jobs."

"Ain't it obvious?" Hagrid, proud of his ingenious thinking, smiled.

"Sorry," Severus said slowly. "Minerva and I are not up to _your_ standards, Hagrid. Please, enlighten us."

"The Golden Trio, o'course!" his smile brightened. But when he saw the horrid looks on his companions faces, his own became somber. "I missed sumthin', didn' I?"

McGonagall sighed and replied, "Harry Potter, sure. But not Ron or Hermione! Ron is off playing a pro quidditch team and...Hermione...we haven't seen her since after she graduated." She was greatly saddened at this, for Hermione had been her favorite student.

"Damn, Hagrid. You have not been in the castle, _nor_ have you gone to any Order meetings, especially when we tried to look for Miss Granger?" Severus asked, and signalled Rosemerta once more for another whiskey.

"Don' blame me," he said quietly. And then he changed the subject to a more happier one, like all the cute little first years he was going to get to teach nex year. McGonagall and Severus gently lay their heads down on the table and listened to him drabble about the kids they were actually dreading.

When Severus returned back to the dungeons, he felt a bit tipsy. No doubt McGonagall felt the same way, for in the end, they drowned their boredom of Hagrid's drabble with whiskey and vodka. He entered his quarters and immediately fell flat on his quite comfortable black satin comforter on his bed.

He then thought back to the conversation about the Golden Trio. True, as he wouldn't admit it, they would be the best candidates for the posistions that were open. Potter with DADA (Grrr), Weasley with Quidditch teacher, and Granger with Arithmacy. But he was almost glad none of them would be able to do it. That meant he didn't have to put up with them. He already had to see Potter and Weasley at Order meetings.

Then again, as far as he can remember, Granger had always been rather pretty. Especially in her seventh year, when she had matured into a young woman. She had curves that most prostitutes he had seen didn't have... and nice breasts, as he could tell. He then began to laugh at himself for ever thinking these thoughts. For all he knew, Hermione Granger was in Asia with an Asian husband and an Asian/English kid. After laughing he immediately felt sleep come to him, and he didn't even take off his shoes before snores could be heard around the room.

The next morning was awful for a particular Potions Master. The hangover was practically unbearable; luckily, he had Sober-Up potion, so within the next few seconds, his headache was gone, to say the least. He took a quick shower after getting up and requested a cup of coffee from his personal house-elf, Mertle.

While resting in his sitting quarters and drinking his coffee, the stone fireplace erupted in green flames and Albus's head appeared. "Severus, we have a staff meeting at two o'clock today, to welcome our new teachers. Think you can make it?"

Severus grunted in response, and Albus's head was gone. _Great, _he thought to himself, _new people, new faces...and probably new people who don't know that I don't like to be friendly. _After finsihing his coffee, he realized it was already one o'clock. _Must've woken up a lot later than I thought. _

He dressed and set out to McGonagall's office with a spare Sober-Up.


	2. A battle has begun and a bet is made

Under My Skin

Disclaimer: Don't remind me!

**Thanks for all the reviews and "petitions" to be my beta. I couldn't pick all of you, unfortunately, so the prize goes toooo...JTBJAB! And so thanks a lot to JTBJAB for beta-ing this story.**

-

Chapter 2

The damn staff meeting was an introduction to the new fucking professors. Harry bloody Potter, Ronald damned Weasley, and some young woman by the name of Grace Vasquez, who had wavy black hair and steel gray blue eyes with a nice tan figure. Potter would be taking the DADA posistion (once again, grrrr), Weasley was going to take Quidditch instructor, and the Vasquez woman would take the Arithmacy posistion. Severus thought he deserved a damn cookie or something for predicting two of the three new teachers, even if it was Hagrid who brought it up.

Vasquez was seated next to Severus in the comfortable plush chairs and he could see out of the corner of his eye that she was staring at him intently. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked coldly. He turned to look at her and she blushed.

"Forgive me," she replied in a soft, almost Spanish accent. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Grace Vasquez, and you are?"

"Not caring at the moment," Severus mumbled, but apparently the woman had more wit than she let on for she replied,

"I see. Well, when you happen to care, Professor, I'd love to talk to you about potions and such," with much venom, and with that she got out of her chair to speak with that damned Potter. Severus sighed, and before he knew it, Aura Sinistra was sitting next to him.

She chuckled lightly and said, "Severus, those damn tactics will get you no where with women."

"As if I was meaning to," he said a cold, drawled voice. Aura chuckled more at this and patted him on the arm. He mocked disgust and moved his arm away. She sighed and they both just stared off into the fire...

"I hope you found your accomodations suitable," Harry Potter tried to make conversation with Grace during dinner that evening. As he was sitting next to her at the Head Table, it was only polite that one should talk to her. Unfortunately, Ron Weasley was also sitting next to the beautiful woman, so the men were practically fighting for her attention.

"Very much so," she replied, with a slight giggle.

"So, Grace, where are you from?" Ron asked sweetly. He scooted his chair closer to her's. Severus, all the way down the table, saw this manuever and rolled his eyes at how immature and stupid these little boys were being. He also noticed that Vasquez had a look of discomfort on her face, from what he supposed; was from their closeness. Neither boy noticed this for they were too busyswimming intheir own self-confidence.

Damn it, he thought sourly. He got up from his place at the table and walked the few feet where the three were sitting. "Professor Vasquez," she looked up and he eyed her intently. "I think I would like to discuss those potions, now, if you don't mind."

Apparently, he had startled her with his politeness and it took her a few moments to respond with, "Oh, yes, yes of course, Professor. Excuse me, guys." She mocked reluctance as she stood and the boys just stared at her and Snape increduously. He put his hand on the small of her back to guide her out. The boys' faces were beyond red now, and when Snape turned around, he tried his hardest to keep a straight face.

He led her out the Great Hall and when they were out of earshot, she began laughing uncontrollably. Severus found he quite liked Vasquez's laugh. It wasn't shrilly and squeaky, nor too deep; it was perfect. "Professor Vasquez-"

"Grace," she corrected when air filled her lungs finally. She even had to hold onto the stone gray walls to keep herself steady.

"Miss Grace, don't expect me to come to your rescue everytime those buffoons think they know everything about women."

The mood around the two immediately changed and Severus could tell Grace was getting angry. She spoke in a clenched voice, "I didn't need you to 'come to my rescue', as you so adaquently put it, Professor Snape. I was quite capable of letting Messers Potter and Weasley know that I didn't feel like talking with them at the moment."

"Whatever you say, ma'am. Good evening." He was about to walk back down to his cold dungeons, until a small tan hand grabbed his arm. "You honestly think you saved me? I ask you, Snape, what in the hell makes you think that you're better than me?"

"I said nothing of the sort, Vasquez," his demeanor was now set with a ready-rage fury. How dare she... "And given the fact that you know nothing of me other than I'm a Potions Master here at Hogwarts, doesn't help your case. Now, if you'll excuse me," He quickly stole his arm away from her's and walked down the hall and into his dungeons without a second glance.

The nerve of that woman... Severus thought to himself as he entered his chambers behind his classroom and office. His chambers were very luxuriously furnished, compared to his office and classroom. In the sitting room was a black leather couch and chair in front of a dark wood fireplace. The room had shelves upon shelves of books about potions and other literature as well. A bear rug sat underneath a cherrywood coffee table in front of the firepalce. There was a door leading to his bedroom, which was also fully furnished.

The bedroom had a king-sized canopy bed with a black satin comforter and silk sheets. Next to cherrywood bed was a bedside table with various potions that matched with the bed. There was also a cherrywood dresser, desk, and wardrobe. A door in there led to a gray marble bathroom with your standard utilities. Every room had a dark ceramic tile for the floor. And it was just how Severus liked it.

A knock on his quarter door interrupted his reverie. "Enter," he called from his sitting room.

"Severus," a very amused-looking McGonagall entered the room. "I just got done talking to a very ill-tempered Mrs. Vasquez-"

"Mrs.?" he questioned.

"What? Oh, yes. She's married to Julian Vasquez, but I could've sworn she said something about a divorce. Anyway, as I was saying, she was talking about the little incident in the Great Hall. Now, what on earth happened? I could barely get two words out of the young woman; she was too busy ranting."

"I did nothing you might be thinking in that small little head of your's, Minerva. Now, please, I have syllabuses to plan." He walked out of sitting rooms and into his office; unfortunately, McGonagall followed him with a stern eye and a stiff walk. She sat in a brown leather chair in the front of his desk and sighed.

"There seems to be a lot of that going on, madame," he stated as he looked up from his blank paper on his desk.

"I'm sorry?" she seemed so very confused.

"You were thinking that secrecy iscircling all around us. You are more correct than you know."

"You and that damned mind-reading. I suppose I shall be going. Severus, my dear boy, I'll be in touch," she said with another sigh and then she exited the office and out of the classroom. Severus put down his quill he had been holding and lounged in his chair. The nerve of Vasquez to go tattle-tale to Minerva!

_Knock, knock. _

"Door's open!" yelled Grace from her new rooms the next day. She was trying her hardest to get the decorations she wanted in her sitting room, but for some reason, the room refused to change. She was already clad in sweat from the heat and exhaustion. Grace was wearing a gray blue t-shirt that matched her eyes with blue jeans when Ron Weasley walked in.

"Hello, Mrs. Vasquez," he greeted politely and smiled.

She returned the smile and replied, "Please, Grace. Hi, Ron. What brings you over here on the Ravenclaw side...all the way to my little ol' rooms?"

He chuckled slightly and ran a hair through his flame red hair. "I, uh...wanted to know if you would like to come to dinner with me tonight," he said with a lot more confidence than what he was feeling. The young woman looked up at him uncertainly and smiled.

"Sure, Ron. Is anyone coming with us?

"Uh, well, um...no?

She laughed silently and replied,Sounds great. I'll meet you in front of the Great Hall at seven then. She looked up at him expectantly.

"Yeah. 'Bye, Grace" he practically skipped with joy as he left her rooms and the young woman occupying said rooms just sighed at how unfortunate she was. Not because Ron Weasley had asked her to eat dinner with him; oh, no he was very handsome and and seemed funny and good-natured. She was sighing because she realized that coming to Hogwarts was causing a battle within herself, and she didn't know how to get rid of it.

"Guess what, 'Mr. Seductive'. I'm currently in the lead with our little bet! Ha, I just know I'm going to get Grace in my bed before you do" Ron exclaimed as he entered his best friend Harry's office. The office in question was not as creatively fashioned as Albus Dumbledore's was and it wasn't as dark and sinister as Severus Snape's. It was...a mix.

"So, I walk into her rooms, right? The woman is wearing a tight fitting t-shirt that matched the sexiness of her eyes and these cute little jeans that hugged her figure in all the right places. She was soaking in sweat, too...she probably just knew I was coming and was getting all hot and bothered by the mere thought of me! I ask her out for dinner tonight and BOOM...man, she is mine"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What makes you think she'll be in your bed by the end of the night"

"Oh I don't. I mean, c'mon, she's a married woman and all. But I heard she's getting a divorce, anyway. I expect that if we go out enough, she'll be on her knees saying, 'Oh, Ron. Please let me-'"

"AHH! Come on, still here" Harry exclaimed in a disgusted voice.

Ron seated himself in a comfortable chair in next to Harry's desk and flipped his legs over the armrest. "Have you even talked to since that night Snape took her away from us"

"Well...no" Harry replied sullen. It wasn't fair that Ron was getting a headstart on this. Ron only wanted to have Grace in his bed because if he did it before Harry, it meant he was better. Harry actually sort of kind of liked this woman. She was funny and intellgent and above all pretty.

"Don't worry about me, Ron. There's still plenty of time to shag her" Harry retaliated with all the determination he could muster. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."

**I'm so very, very sorry that some dialouge has no punctuation. This is not my nor my beta's fault. I was in the middle of correcting a bit of it, and all of a sudden it started going crazy and would delete letters and such everytime I pressed a button. I hope it's easy enough to understand!**

**Quick question. And this is for future reference, as in not anytime soon. Would you guys want Vasquez to be Hermione some way (and I already have a way if yall want it like that) or for Vasquez and Snape to eventually get together, but Hermione comes to Hogwarts (and I also have a way she'd come to Hogwarts)? **

**I can't want until the third chapter, though. I already have it written and should be posting it soon because I'm going to Disney World in a few days for a whole week.**


	3. The nerve of that woman

Under My Skin

Disclaimer: Don't remind me!

Chapter 3

Ron and Grace respectively met at their designated time that night, at seven sharp in front of the Great Hall. As they approached each other, Ron blushed and gave her a quick kiss on her soft cheek. He was wearing his favorite jeans with a blue button-up long-sleeve shirt. Grace, on the other hand, was wearing a knee-legnth strapless dark green summer dress with matching flip-flops. Her wavy dark hair was down, caressing her bare back. Ron eyed her body up and down for a few good seconds before he said sweetly, "Ready to go?"

"Where are we going?" she asked, as he held out his elbow and she took it.

"It's a surprise. Close your eyes," he whispered in her ear and she complied. They began to walk and she knew, at least, that they were now out of Hogwarts and onto a completely different terrain, for she could feel wet, moldy stones underneath her thin flip-flops. They were walking pretty fast, but Grace really didn't seem to notice; she was kind of put down because she hated surprises. Oh well, she thought somberly, at least he's trying.

"Open your eyes," he said seductively. She opened her eyes and was pleased by what she saw in front of her. It was a beautiful lake; not the Hogwarts Lake, but a very nice and peaceful lake with white lillies and huge stones surrounding the water. Grass was next to these stones, and apparently Ron had put a red and white checkered blanket in front of where they were standing, with a lunch basket. Although Grace didn't like surprises, she was definitely enjoying this.

"Oh, Ron. It's...beautiful," she complimented as he led her down to sit. She scooter closer to her and held her hand. He briefly noticed her discomfort, but it was soon replaced by peacefulness. "Where are we?"

"A very secret spot that I know of. Harry and I used to come here with - uhh- "

She chuckled and said"Other girlfriends?"

"Yeah," he said as he blushed. She laughed at his boyish tactics.

The evening was spent quite nicely, talking and eating and sharing pasts.

"So, you're married?" Ron asked as the pair walked barefoot around the lake.

"Um, if you want to call it that. Julian and I are very much in love, but...he doesn't want what I want," she replied in a saddened tone.

"And what do you want?" he stared into those gray blue eyes and sighed. Maybe this girl was going to be worth more than just a shag...and thirty galleons if I win the bet, he thought with a smirk.

She cleared her throat and supplied, "A career...a good name for myself. Don't get me wrong, I want love and all that stuff, but he has to know that right now I want a career, not a family. Julian wanted a big family and he was so wonderful, I didn't want to keep him from his dreams. So, yes, we are in the middle of a divorce in America; I'll probably have to leave every now and then."

"Oh, that's horrible," he faked sadness in his voice.

"Yes, it is. Ron, this has been a wonderful evening, but do you mind if we return to Hogwarts? I have a lot of things to plan for the new year. What about you and Harry's lesson plans? Are they coming along nicely?" she asked politely as they slowly gathered up their blanket, picnic basket, and put on their shoes.

"Well, Harry's pretty much been okay pertaining to his lesson plans, but I'm just the Quidditch instructor," he said proudly as they began walking on the moldy gray stone. They made their way slowly, which took a long time, as things began to change. Instead of the beautiful, peaceful scene, they were just accustomed to, the atmosphere was instantly changed back to the front of Hogwarts.

"How did-"

Ron chuckled softly and tucked a lock of black hair behind Grace's ear. "Magic, darling, magic. Good night, Grace." He took her hand and kissed her knuckles softly and walked off back to his room to swim in his self-confidence.

It was still pretty early in the night by the time Grace Vasquez got back to her rooms near the Arithmacy classroom in the Ravenclaw wing. She briefly thought more about Ron before there was a knock on the door.

_Oh, come on! _

When she opened the door, she was very surprised to see Harry Potter staring at her from underneath long, black eyelashes. "Hi," he said seductively.

"Hi, Harry. What can I do for you?" She was very tired and wanted sleep, but he seemed nice enough to pick up enough hints if she felt need to give them.

"I..." he stopped from what he was about to say and smirked. "I just wanted to see if you were alright," he stated simply.

"I'm quite fine," she replied befuddled. "Why do you ask?"

He shifted from one leg to the other and rested his shoulder on the doorframe. "Well, I've known Ron for a very long time and I also know what he usually does to women on first dates...brought you to our lake, did he?" He knew Ron's plans because Ron had told him everything down to the very last move he would make. He saw Grace nod her head slowly as she said, "Oh, won't you come in?"

He stepped inside her large quarters and welcomed himself to the off-white leather couch next to the white marble fireplace. "So, what does he do?" she tried to ask him like it really wasn't any interest to her, but she sat by him on the couch and stared at him intently.

"Brings girls to the lake. Asks them about themselves and such, especially what they want in life: that's the key. If he's determined to get a good shag out of her, he'll bring a blanket and picnic basket. Then he'll take off his shoes and guide the girl around the lake while holding her hand. If he doesn't get a shag by the end of the night, he does something even worse: leaves the girl hanging by telling her good-night and kissing her on the hand. Of course, he talks to her the next day and asks if she wants to get together sometime and she agrees because of his boyish good looks. But, by the fifth date, if he doesn't get fucked, he leaves the poor thing... and expects me to take care of her."

He felt bad for Grace now, because apparently she had a felt a little something for Ron. "What a prick," he heard her mutter under her breath and he smirked, but quickly hid it when she turned and looked at him.

"Thanks for the news, Harry," she replied gruffly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to sleep."

"I...okay." And he left. The nerve of that woman, he thought to himself angrily. Here he was, trying to tell her all of Ron's secrets to women (even if they weren't true) and she was getting all huffy to him. No matter, he'd get her in his bed one way or another.

-

'_It's pretty pathetic when I go to McGonagall because I'm bored',_ Severus thought to himself lazily the next day. He was on his way to one of his mentor's quarters when he was stopped short by Vasquez. Rather, they bumped into each other while he wasn't looking. She was holding a book and had small-framed glasses on. Gray blue (which was turning out to be her favorite color for clothes because it brought out her eyes) robes hung loosely on her shoulders and her hair was tied up in a long braid.

"Watch where you're going, Vasquez," he said coldly.

"Me! You were the one not looking where you were headed. I swear, if you weren't old enough to be my grandfather, I'd-"

He was so close to her body by this time, he could feel the angry heat bouncing off her very curved tan figure. "Pray tell: what would you do?" he asked with the most silky voice he could muster. He noticed that Vasquez's knees gave way just briefly, but she held her poise once again.

She smirked and replied, "Oh, Professor Snape. I wouldn't do anything to you anyway. I could probably get in trouble for hurting the old senile geisers around Britian like you. Please, old man, continue with whatever you were doing." She was about to skip along but a strong hand grabbed her elbow.

"I'm not old. Now see, Albus is old, child. Minerva is pretty old, but I am not," he replied with gritted teeth.

She chuckled and said, "But I bet Albus and Minerva could get 'it' on a lot better than you."

"Why you little-"

"Severus? Grace? What's going on here?" Minerva McGonagall gave them a stern look and Severus guiltily dropped her elbow.

"Nothing," they replied together and both looked at each other with a menacing glare quite childishly.

"Enough, you two. Severus, was there something you needed?"

"Yes, I was coming to see you."

"Don't you have any other friends to go cry to?" Grace asked innocently.

Severus snorted and retaliated, "You've got no room to talk, Vasquez. You're the one that went to Minerva a few nights ago claiming I did God knows what to you."

"Oh, puh-lease. You are NOT that important in my list for me to go complaining about you."

"Right, right. So that's why you probably waste your time while you're alone coming up with insults for me, is it? Or is there something else you do alone that you most definitely can't get a male to do?"

"Shut the fuck up!"

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" Minerva carried herself with grace over to the two acting like children and pointed a finger in one direction. "Professor Vasquez, I would appreciate it a great deal if you were to go along and do whatever it is you were going to do. And keep your comments and hands to yourself."

She sighed and replied, "Yes ma'am. See you later, old man." And before Severus could say something back, she was quickly walking back to her quarters.

"In my office, now, Severus Snape," Minerva commanded with a pink tint to her face.

Severus sighed and replied, "Yes, ma'am."


	4. A little problem is brought up

Under My Skin

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Thanks sooo much to JTBJABfor beta-ing this story!

* * *

Chapter 4

_"In my office, **now**, Severus Snape," McGonagall commanded with a pink tint to her face. _

_"Yes, ma'am." _

They both entered McGonagall's office. "Explain yourself. You are older than her and have been at Hogwarts a lot longer. So why in the hell do you see fit to traumatize the poor woman?"

"Me! I don't traumatize her, she traumatizes me." Severus sat roughly in a chair next to McGonagall's office's fireplace. "Why did you and Albus hire such an awful woman?"

"Because she was damn - well qualified!" McGonagall walked over to her desk and grabbed a file that was sitting on it labelled Vasquez, Grace and handed it to him. "I suggest you read over it, Severus. Now, what it is that you wanted with me?"

Severus really didn't have anything specific that he wanted to discuss with Minerva; he was just bored. Perhaps he had wanted to talk about Vasquez, but that was entirely out of the question now. Minerva might think he had a crush on that wretched woman. "There's no status change with Miss Granger, is there?" he asked out of the blue, but it had been bothering him for a while.

McGonagall's face saddened by the mere mention of her name. "No, Severus, there hasn't been. God, I just do not understand why she would leave us. She was so bright and could do anything she pleased...We have sources at the magic school in America that claim they spotted her in New Orleans, Louisiana, but when we went to investigate, it was a fluke." Severus could see McGonagall's eyes go misty and she closed them before they were set to her clear brown.

"I guess the damn girl didn't realize how...hurt everyone would be at her departure," he said more to himself than McGonagall.

"Severus, I suggest you go apologize to Vasquez," McGonagall startled him out of his musings.

"Why should I go apologize to her?" he asked with his face set in disgust. He moved about uncomfortably in the chair.

"You are older, sometimes wiser, and deserve whatever she dishes out at you," she replied with a smirk. She pointed her bony finger to the doorway. Severus gruffly got up from his chair, leaving Vasquez's file, and sulked out of the door. His feet absent mindly worked their way to Vasquez's rooms near the Arithmacy classroom. He hadn't really planned on going apologize to her, but he figured he better, for Minerva might question her later.

He knocked on her door, half hoping she wasn't there. Half.

Unfortunately for him, she opened the door and rage filled her eyes as soon as she saw him. She tried to slam the door in his face, but his hand caught the door in time for his hand to make contact with the doorframe. "SHIT!" he yelled loudly.

"Oh my gosh, Professor, I'm so sorry," She quickly led him inside while he cradled his hand. She set him on her couch and quickly called for a house-elf by the name of Bella. The house-elf, who was wearing a musty old pillowcase similar to Dobby's, heard Grace's plea for something to help Severus.

"But, ma'am," Bella said frightfully. "You is witch and you have wand."

"I-oh! Thank-you, Bella, I completely forgot. You can return to the kitchens now," Grace replied in a slight rush.

She grabbed her wand from the coffee table and bit her lip, in concentration trying to think of the right spell. She slowly pointed her wand at Severus' hand and for a second, he looked frightened, but he was in too much pain. Although he tried his best not to show it, his hand really hurt. That woman obviously was quite strong. His frightened/pained look scared the shit out of Grace. His hand was, after all, swelling up and turning purple.

"Uh..umm...Integro!" she said loudly and a white flame emitted from her wand. But instead of casting it at his hand, she cast it at his...

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Severus yelled as he stood up quickly and tried to cover up the fastly growing erection with his black billowing robes. His face became set with rage and he stared at her.

"I...oh, dear," she replied, and she was trying very hard not to giggle. "I accidentally pointed my wand at your-um-yeah instead of your hand when I said the healing charm. Severus, I truly am sorry."

"You wench!" he yelled as he tried to run from her quarters, but his erection was throbbing with pain by now. He needed some kind of release and fast.

"Want me to take care of that for you?" she yelled back at him with a hysterical laugh.

-

_Okay, Severus. You are roaming Hogwarts with a throbbing erection and you need help and fast. Do it yourself? No, that's a sign of weakness. Get a woman to- no, that won't work. You'd have to go get a prostitute and by that time you might be dead. Cold shower and cold thoughts seem to be your only option. And your hand still bloody hurts. Damn it. _

He quickly made his way to his rooms and straight through to his bathroom. He stripped his clothes and turned on the cold water for his shower. He hurriedly stepped inside and began to think of McGonagall in a bathing suit. That definitely calmed his little problem. But it still needed some encouragement. _Okay, Minerva and Dumbledore getting it on...hmm, that's what Vasquez said... _

At the mental mention of Grace, his penis shot directly up again. He groaned and began to think of Harry Potter, anything to get his mind off of her. _Harry Potter, Ron Weasley...Hermione Granger_. Once again, his damn imagination got the better of him and he was still in the predicament. _DUMBLEDORE IN A FUCKING SPEEDO_! That, and the cold water, deflated his member and it was now safe to step out of the shower after that excruciating ordeal.

As soon as he got out, he self-consciously grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his middle. He checked his appearance in the mirror. Shoulder-legnth, black, greasy hair, crooked yellow teeth, sallow skin, and a long disfigured nose. He had somehow over the years became used to his appearance but every now and then, it was shoved in his face at how hideous he was. Life went on.

He then remembered his hand. He had left his wand in the bathroom after magically painting the walls when he went to see McGonagall, which was now, as he saw, a very bad mistake. So with a quick wave of his arm, the pain was gone.

"Severus," he heard Vasquez call from his sitting room.

"Wait," he yelled back in a harsh tone. He stepped out of his bathroom and to his bedroom. He dressed in what he normally did and set out for where Vasquez was to give her a good hex or two. As he entered, he was stopped. She actually looked quite pretty, looking all innocent, yet giggly.

"I truly am sorry about all that. I-hope you took care...of...it..." Fits of laughter overcame her heartfelt apology and the need to hex her came back to Severus. He took two long strides to her body and pushed her, gently, against a wall.

"Why the hell are you so immature?" he asked icily.

"Because pricks like you keep getting what you deserve," she replied with a grin. "Now, if you will excuse me, Professor...let go of me."

"Oh, why should I?"

"Let the fuck go."

"Hmm..." Maybe it had been how close they were, or maybe it had just been they had it coming, but in an instant, their lips met in a fierce and passionate kiss. Hands were now roaming all over each other's bodies and it took everything they had to stop. Both were gasping for breath when they did and the just stared at each other blankly.

"I..." Whatever Grace was about to say was cut off when she ran from the dungeons.

"Damn it," Severus swore. He didn't even bother going after her. He hadn't meant to kiss her, it just happened. If she didn't want anything to do with him after this, he was all for it. 'Maybe I should've kissed her a long time ago,' he thought to himself with a smirk. At least she'd be out of my hands. But, oh, how lovely she felt in his hands. He sighed and returned to his room...he needed a very long dreamless nap.

-

"Minerva, I don't see how you can stand even being in the same castle with that man!" cried Grace ten minutes later after she made her way to McGonagall's quarters. She was breathing heavy and her words were cut short with breath as she paced McGonagall's sitting room.

McGonagall smirked and replied, "Seems like you two are really kicking it off."

"He kissed me for God's sake. I don't...it's...what am I going to do."

"What do you mean?"

"I love Julian, but I- just don't want children...Ron has become quite a nuisance asking me to go out with him...and Severus is being a prick! What the hell is wrong with men around me? I think I should become a lesbian."

McGonagall moved slightly away from her at this bold statement, but when she realized Grace was just speaking rashly, she sat on the couch next to her. "My dear girl, it wasn't meant to be with Julian, Ron is immature and doesn't deserve you, and Severus, well," the smirk was not well-hidden on her face"will come around."

A/N: Sorry this took longer than usual, but I was in DISNEY WORLD for the past 7 days. I didn't want to go, but the fam was _making _me. Hey, I volunteered to stay home and save money, but noooo...So yeah, I had to take loads of pics for one of my teachers, too, 'cause she's in love with Pooh-bear...I was just like what the hell...thought I'd share that with yall -P


	5. Coming Out the Closet

Under My Skin

Chapter 5

"Grace doesn't seem to want to even talk to me anymore," Ron sighed to Harry.

Harry smirked in return and replied, "Well, Ron, I guess you just don't have the charm you thought you had." Harry knew it was wrong of him to lie to Grace about Ron, but he liked Grace and didn't want her to get hurt by falling for Ron. He watched Ron pace his study as they were about to go to the Three Broomsticks with Remus Lupin. "Anyway, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, we're meeting him there?" Ron asked casually.

Harry nodded his head and the two men set off for Hogsmeade to meet Remus. They walked out of Hogwarts gates and Apparated right in front of the Three Broomsticks. They hurriedly entered the pub and looked around to find Remus. He was sitting at the bar near the door, smiling as people passed him. Harry heard Ron sigh as they moved toward the sandy-haired man. Remus turned around and caught a glimpse of them, before motioning them to join him. They obliged silently and sat down across from Remus.

"Well, how's the planning coming?" Remus began uneasily.

After a moment of silence from both boys, Harry replied, "Great. Ron doesn't really have anything to plan, but mine's been going okay. What about work at the university?"

"La Chel is very difficult to teach at. I get so _stressed_, sometimes. The Headmaster over there plans the syllabus, not the teachers, so half the time I have no clue what's going on in my own class. The students there think that just because they made it into the highest-paying university, they're all that. Load of bollocks, if you ask me."

Ron laughed silently and uncertainly. Harry noticed that he was acting very peculiar all of a sudden and he planned to get to the bottom of it eventually. Just then, a waitress came to their table and they each ordered a butterbeer. They sat around in silence, waiting for their drinks. Every now and then, Remus would mention something about a quidditch team doing well, and one of the boys would respond. Their drinks eventually arrived and they all downed half of it in one gulp.

Harry stared at his two favorite people in the world and he noticed they were still looking uncomfortable. "What the hell is going on?" he asked suddenly. The other men were startled at his outburst and looked around anywhere but each other. Harry chuckled, "Don't feign ignorance. You've been avoiding everything around you the whole time we've been here, both of you. Now, what's going on? Or will I have to hex it out of you?"

"This is none of your concern, Harry," Remus spoke in a harsh and cold tone. It offended Harry slightly but he held his ground.

"The hell it isn't! Why are you, all of a sudden, being so damn secretive? Ron, when's the last time you kept a secret from me?" he asked in wonder. This was definitely a shock as it had just dawned on him that they were indeed keeping a secret from him, and that never happened.

"I have to go," Remus stated in a monotone voice. He quickly got up from the booth, laid some money on the table, and exited the pub. Harry stared at Ron, whose ears were bright red, to the closing door Remus left out of. He did this back and forth for several moments, like he was watching a tennis match.

"Ronald Weasley," Harry started, "what the hell just happened?"

Ron made a disgusted face and replied, "Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Harry nodded his head uncertainly and beckoned for him to continue.

"Last weekend, I went to Grimmauld Place to visit Remus because I knew he was off from the university and I was pretty bored. We began talking and that led to...kissing...and that led to, well, you know. We had both been a bit tipsy from the whiskey we shared earlier. Remus and I promised each other we wouldn't tell a soul, but I knew I couldn't keep it in! Harry, I don't even know how it happened. One minute we were discussing quidditch, and the next, he was asking me what I wanted for damn breakfast! He promised things wouldn't get uncomfortable, but apparently he saw my uncertainty," Ron finished with a huff and a sigh. Everything was making sense to Harry now. The way Ron would speak of Remus feigning indifference every now and then and how he blushed and sighed when talking about Remus.

"So, you're gay?" he asked.

"No! I still like girls..." he groaned and laid his head on the table. It was possible that Ron was deeply confused about his sexual orientation. It could be that he was bisexual, although Harry never understood how someone could be that greedy as to have both sexes. Whatever Ron decided, he would be with him there through and through.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Harry prided.

Ron looked up confused and replied, "Absolutely nothing, except pretend it never happened! Harry, you and I are the studs of the wizarding world. What would people think if I was publicly gay!"

"Well, it would give the women and men a chance to be with studs, don't ya think?" Harry asked with a smirk. He then decided just to drop the conversation because he could tell Ron was becoming uncomfortable again. He sighed and moved onto the list of first years he had gone over earlier that day. That conversation lightened Ron up slightly.

* * *

Severus was confused throughout the weeks that went by. It had been two weeks since he had kissed Vasquez, and that had been his last time of even talking to her. They avoided each other as much as possible, but it was quite difficult as there was faculty meetings and Great Hall dinners both the professors had to attend. Grace tried her best to let it go and stay around Harry as much as possible and it was aggravating Severus down to his very core. He tried to dismiss the thoughts of jealously, but they kept coming back with each day he was not interacting with Vasquez.

Grace was having just as much trouble as he was. Severus could be seen with Aura Sinistra every now and then and a slight pang in her stomach was present every time she saw the two.

They ended up sitting next to each other at a faculty meeting that week. It was the most awful thing either of them had to go through. After the meeting, Severus was about to hurriedly leave, but Grace's small tan hand found it's way to the crook of his elbow and stopped him. She smiled at him and asked, "Can we talk?"

He nodded curtly and led her to the hall. "Miss Grace, I want to apologize for the other night in my lab. It was very rude of me to take advantage of you," Severus said quickly.

There was fire in her eyes at this statement. "Rude? Take advantage of me? Severus, what are you talking about? You know just as well as I do that we both enjoyed the kiss."

"You can't prove that," he replied in a cold tone.

"Oh yeah?" She grabbed the back of his neck with her left hand and pulled his face towards her. Their lips met in a fierce kiss once again and his hands began roaming till they came to rest on her lower back, pulling her till she was flush to him. She gasped and moaned as she felt his growing erection pushing against her stomach. Severus ran his tongue along her bottom lip begging for entrance and she happily obliged as he sucked her lip into his mouth, causing her to moan again.

The kiss was, unfortunately, stopped short by a loud clearing of the throat. The pair spun around and was met by a very twinkling Albus Dumbledore running his fingers through his long white beard.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Albus asked, chuckling, as Severus and Grace tried their best to conceal any proof of their kiss. They both straightened out their robes and Grace returned a lopsided grin to the Headmaster.

"Excuse me." She began to walk back to her rooms, but an arm twisted itself around her waist. It was Severus'.

"Headmaster," Severus said, adjourning Albus. He then steered Grace away from the hall and into a closet a little ways down. When he was sure there was no noise coming from outside, he hungrily forged his lips upon hers and was met with an equally hungry Grace. Hands were roaming everywhere; Severus' were now up the loose t-shirt she was wearing and onto her black silk bra. Her hands were underneath his shirt, roaming his soft back.

She moaned into his mouth and said between kisses in a husky voice, "We really can't do this."

Although in the dark, Grace could tell Severus was briefly pouting. "Fine," he replied coldly. He fixed his robes and was about to set off to sulk in his dungeons, but Grace quickly stood in front of him.

"Don't, that's not what I meant. One, I'm married. And two, I...don't know, just it isn't right at the moment," she replied in a saddened tone. Severus sulkily moved closer to her body and kissed her forehead.

He exited the closet, leaving a befuddled Grace behind.


	6. Thoughts and Bruises

Under My Skin

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.

After Severus gracefully glided to his rooms that night, he wondered what it was about Grace Vasquez he was so damn attracted to. He hadn't been attracted to any woman in a very long time, so why now and why her? It was unnerving to think of all the nasty things he thought about Grace prior to their first kiss. He had always thought of her as a very intellectual, yet arrogant person. And for some reason that reminded him of something or someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place what or who. He thought back to the experience of his erection about a week ago. He remembered seeing her bite her lip in concentration as she thought of the spell, and at that point something in his mind clicked, but what it clicked to, he couldn't tell.

Whatever it was about this woman, Severus enjoyed it immensely. But, as she practically said, he was way too old for her. They were almost twenty years apart. As Severus thought about the age difference, he began to wonder where these ludicrous thoughts were coming from. Why should he care about their age difference? She'd be nothing more to him than a good shag. If and when it got around to that, he'd throw her away like the whore she truly was.

Severus was in need of whiskey and fast.

He stalked over to his bar in the hallway and grabbed an unopened bottle of whiskey. As he held the whiskey, he used his wand to light a fire and conjure his black leather chair next to it. He sat down and downed half the bottle in one gulp. He felt the liquid slide down his throat gracefully and soon all his thoughts were disoriented.

* * *

"Ron, I'm done with the bet."

"What? Why?" Ron questioned. Both men were out by the lake the day before the students were to arrive. Harry was skipping stones in the lake like a little boy while Ron watched him.

"I just don't think we should be doing this. Someone could get hurt," he replied. He truly liked Grace and definitely didn't want to see her get hurt. He sighed and looked around for more skipping stones.

"Are you afraid you're going to loose?" Ron challenged.

"No, that's not it!" he defended back. Ron dropped the subject for now and continued to watch Harry.

"Pussy," Ron muttered.

Harry heard this and turned to face Ron in a swift move. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me! You're afraid you're going to lose. And that worries you because Perfect Potter has never lost anything to Weasel Weasley. There's a first time for everything!" Ron yelled.

"You've got no room to call anyone a pussy, fag!" Harry was on high on his toes now trying to cast down upon the equally tall Ron. They were inches from each other and as the moments passed, their faces became redder.

"I'm not a fag!" Ron retorted uneasily.

"Oh, okay. Gay, not straight, pussy, ass fucker, as in _not_ attracted to women as you should!" Ron was taken aback by Harry's harsh words; he had not once in his life heard Harry use such foul language. He didn't even know Harry _knew _these words.

"So this is what you really think of me?" Ron pestered.

"Hell yeah!" A self-satisfied smirk reigned across Harry's face, but it was replaced by a sharp "Oh!" when Ron punched him in the gut. The sudden impact on Harry's stomach had him gaping for air as he struggled to stand as he was now bended over with his hands to his abdomen. He stood straight as soon as he felt his body could hold him up.

"I'm going to kick your ass!" yelled Harry.

Ron who had started to head back to the castle suddenly found himself on the floor, face pushed into the mud, with Harry on top of him.

"Hey! I thought you didn't swing that way Harry." He soon regretted that statement as his sides were pummelled till he found it hard to breathe.

Strength from nowhere appeared and he managed to roll Harry off him so he could defend himself. He managed to punch once before Harry was on him again. Adrenaline was pulsing through both the men; increasing their strength and endurance. Ron had just managed to roll Harry under him so he could get some serious payback when:

"Boys, boys!" yelled McGonagall over the hustle of the fight in front of her. She grabbed both men's ears like little school boys and hauled them off each other. For an old woman, she certainly had strength. She was beyond livid now, her face red. She didn't understand why hostile attention was being charged at one another in the castle. "Oh, for God's sake." she muttered under her breath. "What is the meaning of this?" she fumed.

"Nothing, Professor," Harry was the first one to speak after catching his breath. He was slumped over, trying to regulate his breathing.

"Nothing? I find that hard to believe! Then why were you at each other's throats not two minutes ago? I swear, if Dumbledore knew all the fighting that's been going on..." she mumbled more to herself than the men. Ron sighed and moved away from McGonagall's painful grasp of his ear. Harry did the same and shot a death glare at Ron.

"Boys," McGonagall warned. "I suggest you go back to your rooms and do some last minute prep."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. Up, now! And I will be telling the Headmaster about this. Honestly, the things..." and she began walking back to the castle, muttering to herself.

"I.." began Ron, but he stopped and began walking back towards the castle, a few feet behind McGonagall. Harry stood there watching him, glad he didn't really have to explain himself.

A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews! I feel so proud of myself, actually. So go ahead and review again! It'll make me update faster!


	7. Minerva's Small Attack

Under My Skin

Chapter 7

The students were finally arriving tonight. Even though it was early in the morning, Grace Vasquez was so glad something was going to take her mind off Severus. He was all she could think about for the past week. And it really baffled her at how _much_ she thought about him. Severus this, Severus that. It unnerved her a great deal and she just wanted something to take her mind off it.

"Mind if I come in?" asked a shaky, female voice. Grace looked up to see Minerva McGonagall leaning against her office door frame.

"Yes, of course. Professor, are you alright?"

"Fine, dear. Just fine." McGonagall's voice was still shaking as she sat down on a chair in front of Grace's desk. Grace closed the door behind the aging woman. As Grace studied her, she heard an abrupt knock on the door.

"Grace, open the door. It's Sev -- Snape," Grace heard from the other side of the door. Her breath hitched as she walked slowly over to the door and opened it. As soon as she did this, Severus came rushing in, saying, "Have you seen -- oh, McGonagall. Thank the gods you are alright!"

Grace had never seen Severus worried. His cheeks were paler than usual and his breath was ragged. "What happened?" She turned towards McGonagall now.

"Minerva was attacked by your _husband_," he replied with venom. His black orbs bore into Grace's steel greys.

"That's not possible. Julian is --"

"Here, Professor. Unless he has a twin..." Severus cut in sharply.

"You all don't even know what Julian looks like." She just _knew_ Julian would not harm anyone. He was too kind and gentle.

"We don't need to see what he looks like. He specifically said, and I quote, 'Bring me Grace, damn it. I'm her fucking husband and I want to talk to her,'" Severus smirked. He looked different now, almost too confident for his own good.

Grace's head was hung low as she replied, not even looking at Minerva, "I'm so sorry, Minerva. Is he still in the castle?"

Severus almost wanted to rush over and comfort the now sobbing woman. She looked so helpless and Severus had never felt this way before in his life. Well, except when Hermione Granger cried in her seventh year when her ball of fur she claimed was a cat died.

"I think so. Oh, don't blame yourself, Grace," replied Minerva in a calm and gentle tone. Instead of replying, Grace slowly walked out the office, leaving the other adults to stare at one another. "Severus? Perhaps you should go follow her and make sure she doesn't get hurt. Julian seems awfully vicious."

"Of course," Severus choked and stormed out the office, black robes billowing around.

Grace didn't even get a chance to see Julian. When she asked Argus Filch if he had seen her husband, he said he saw the odd man leaving Hogwarts' grounds. She was disappointed, but began walking to her rooms, possibly to write that horrid ex-husband of her's a hateful letter, when she bumped in to Severus.

"Miss Vasquez--"

"Grace!" she yelled softly, agitation apparent in her voice.

"_Grace_," he corrected himself stubbornly, "we need to talk."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews! It seems that people aren't very interested in this story. So, if you're not, just let know. I've got the next few chapters written, and I really don't want to waste my time! I hope y'all ARE still interested in the story, though. Oh, and soonnn, not now, but sooonnn Hermione will be coming! **

**Innogen** and **m428** -Hmm... I wonder ;-) I guess you both will just have to continue reading this story!


	8. Misunderstandings

Under My Skin

Chapter 8

_"Grace," he corrected himself stubbornly, "we need to talk." _

"I don't have time to talk to you, Professor," she replied unevenly.

"Make time," he replied. He grabbed hold of her arm (like on so many occasions, it was beginning to become a habit) and held her thin frame firmly in place. Her bright grey eyes looked around helplessly, realization dawning that she wasn't going to get out of this one unless God himself decided to show a personal interest in Grace Vasquez.

But then her attitude changed, and her aura of arrogance and sophistication was back. "Excuse me, Professor, but don't you think you're a little too old for me? I could understand how women your age wouldn't come to you, but, honestly, you're practically robbing the cradle." She smirked and shifted around until the hold on her arm was let go. She looked down and noticed dull purple bruises starting to form on her arm. Grace smiled up at the dumbfounded professor and walked down the stone hallway leading back to her rooms.

Severus clenched and unclenched his fists. This shit just was not fair! One minute the little chit was all over him, and the next she's insulting him. Severus was very confused when it came to Grace, even though he was never confused when it came to women. And, not to rain on her parade of course, but women fly themselves over to him, especially nowadays. The nerve of that woman! He didn't _need_ her. He..._wanted_ her.

It was noon, and even though Grace was supposed to be at the Great Hall, enjoying a delicious lunch with all the staff, she couldn't bring herself to get up from the sparkling Hogwarts' Lake. She felt terrible about saying those things to Severus, but she knew that would get him speechless for a while, at least until she figured a few things out. She still intended on writing a letter to Julian, asking him about the uncharacteristic break-in of Hogwarts.

A familiar shuffle of feet from behind interrupted her thoughts. Grace smiled to herself and turned around to be greeted by the joyous face of Ron Weasley. He grinned lopsided and sat down beside the Spanish woman.

"Hey, Ron," she said while staring out into the lake.

Ron didn't reply he simply began skipping stones in the water.

"What's wrong?"

Ron shrugged and replied, "Nothing. Harry and I got in a fight recently and neither one of us will hurt our pride by apologizing. It's a guy thing."

Grace sighed and wondered about the weird ways men thought.

Way above the pair, in the great Hogwarts castle, a pair of twinkling blue eyes watched them, sighing as he did so.

The bloody dunderheads would be arriving any minute now. Severus sighed and sat roughly on the black leather chair next to his already lit fireplace. He stared into the bright orange flames, drinking Old Odgen's, his best friend. Earlier today, Grace was not at lunch, nor was Ron. This angered him. What would Grace see in that weasel? Then again, rumor had it Ron was gay. Maybe Severus was just being childish; he had nothing to worry about.

He drained the last bit of liquid and made his way slowly to the Great Hall. All the other professors, including Grace, were talking quietly amongst one another, waiting for the students. Severus took his place at the end of the table, which, coincidentally, was next to Grace. She eyed him briefly and quickly turned around and began chatting with Professor Qamhiyeh, the Charms professor.

Severus sighed under his breath. He then heard the ever-so-familiar racketing of the old horseless carriages that carried the young students from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. All the teachers heard it, because Hogwarts had a certain alarm to let staff know if something or someone was coming.

Everyone straightened their teaching robes and got situated at their designated seats. Grace determinedly watched the doors, instead of looking at Severus. It hurt him just a little, but of course he was a master at hiding his emotions well. He too watched the doors, waiting for the older children to bounce their way through the Great Hall, sitting at their tables.

All too soon, the students arrived. He eyed all of them, recognizing all of them from last year. The old man sighed and for the first time that night turned towards Grace. She was staring at the children with bright eyes and a smile across her lips. _How could anyone be excited about having to teach these dunderheads?_ He asked himself.

"Professor Vasquez," he whispered the greeting out the corner of his mouth so no one would notice.

"I sign the divorce papers tomorrow. It's Professor Lopez," she whispered back, still brightly staring at the children who were now down taking their seats at the house tables. Then the doors opened and Minerva McGonagall, followed by a rather large group of first years, entered stiffly. _A lot of couples must've gotten busy eleven years ago,_ Severus smirked to himself.

He recognized a few of them almost immediately, which worried him a great deal. First of all, there was a young Malfoy; with the blonde hair and gray eyes, you could never mistake her. She had an air of arrogance and importance, just like her relatives. Severus had seen the little one on many occasions while visiting his godson, Draco. Draco had turned out a lot better than his father, fighting, in the end, for the light.

Someone else he recognized was Potter's girl, Lily. He hadn't even known Potter had a child until a few weeks ago. Apparently, he and Luna got married right out of eighth year and had a child together. There was no mistaking the jet black hair with emerald green eyes. He could tell that the Malfoy/Potter legacy would continue throughout the years, which almost scared him. Almost.

"Aberdayle, Christian," called out McGonagall, reading the names off the longer list than usual.

The hat was put on a rather afraid looking sandy haired boy. The wizened hat almost immediately yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table clapped and congratulated their newest arrival. And so the sorting began.

It took quite a long time since there were so many children to be sorted. But in the end (all the way down to Zabini, Blake) everyone was sorted and the feast was about to be given. But then, of course, Dumbledore had to make his famous before feast speech.

"Welcome, welcome, everyone! I'dfirst like to welcome the new professors and posistions. Sonow I'd liketo congratulate Professor Qamhiyeh, for she has moved from the Arithmacy position to Charms." The hall erupted in quiet claps and a dark-haired and beautiful young woman waved to everyone. Anyone could tell that she was a favorite among the students, especially the older boys. Whistles could be heard over the claps. "And so I'd like to welcome Professor Lopez, who will be our new Arithmacy teacher." Everyone clapped silently, and craned their necks to look at the gorgeous woman sitting next to Professor Snape. "I'd also like to welcome Ronald Weasley, who has taken over for poor Madame Hooch as the Quidditch Instructor." Loud claps could be heard around the hall; Ron was a very famous Quidditch player, after all. "And last, but certainly not least, Harry Potter has graciously taken over Defense against the Dark Arts for the aging Professor Giarold. He will be missed greatly." Harry's claps were loudest of all for obvious reasons. He waved and flashed a boyish grin. The older girls went crazy.

"Now that everyone has been introduced, I have a few regular announcements. The Forbidden Forest is off limits to any student. Mr. Filch has asked that, as a reminder, everyone beware there is a list of what you can and cannot have in the halls or in the classroom. It's posted almost everywhere, so I doubt you will forget! Now, dig in!"

A wonderful feast magically appeared in the gold plates of the Hogwarts Great Hall. Everyone was laughing, talking, and enjoying dinner. Everyone, of course; except a very sour faced Professor Snape.

* * *

An excuse GraceLopez had been using to avoid Severus Snape was that she had way too many things on her mind, what with the new school year and all. Everything had actually been going pretty good for her. It was only in the second week, but so many students had warmed up quickly to Grace. She supposed it was because she was a lot closer to all of their ages than the other professors were.

Severus tried his best to busy himself over the weeks. He tried not to look at the googly stares boys were giving his Grace. Wait, _his_! Grace was not his! What had he been thinking? He would've laughed had the situation not troubled him so much... that, and he didn't laugh. And he was having a pretty hard time controlling his thoughts as of late. At times, he would get lost in thoughts about Grace, especially during the boring hours of class time. He, unlike Grace in the professor area, was having much difficulty. There were at least three students per class that rivaled Neville Longbottom. They were all a cauldron explosion just _waiting _to happen. 

During dinner in the Great Hall one particular night, he found his nose inhaling the wonderful scent of Grace. She smelled like cocoa. He wanted to reach over and do whatever he was physically able to do to her. It was driving him crazy! Just the mere _thought_ of anything pertaining to GraceLopez had him twitching with nerves. Something had to be done, which was why after dinner, Severus went straight to the Headmaster's office. 

"Albus," he began right when he stepped in Dumbledore's office. "I have a problem with this new teacher, Grace Lopez. Not only is she a disturbance to me, but a disturbance to the students as well. Oh, if you only knew about the looks those little insufferable boys gave her once her back was turned...I tell you, Albus, she need not teach here."

And there went that damn sparkle in Albus' blue eyes. "Are you jealous, Severus?" Albus asked quietly. 

"Jealous! Why should I be jealous? No, Headmaster, I, Severus Snape, am _not_ jealous. But do you honestly think we should just let the boys stare at her like this and not concentrate on their work? I'm looking out for their best interest." _Ha, like that's going to fool him, _he thought sadly.

Albus smirked and replied, "Severus, MissLopez is highly qualified in her field to teach and not mix business with pleasure. I'm sure that although the attention is acceptable, it is not wanted. Now try and get along with her. She's very interested in Potions and you will both get along fine. As a matter of fact, I think you should go right this instant and apologize to her. Now, Severus," he added, noticing the angry expression on the younger man's face, "it's not very polite to treat our new staff member this way. We all have to learn to like each other professionally, whether we like it or not. Go on now."

With a heavy heart, Severus walked slowly to Grace's rooms. He passed by various paintings and statues, all looking upon him with a stern eye. He scowled at them all, and continued walking, looking straight ahead. He walked down the lonely and silent corridors slowly, and when he rounded the corners near her quarters, he was met with the still body of Grace Lopez, lying on the stone floor.

Hours later, Severus was still sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the Hospital Wing near Grace's bed. As soon as he had found her, he picked up her limp body and brought her to the infirmary. He had been by her bed ever since, except for when Madam Pomfrey had to run tests on her. But as soon as she was done, he came rushing back, because, although he would never admit it to himself, he felt empty without Grace being there to give him his own medicine of witty comments.

"Severus," Dumbledore announced himself. 

All Severus could do was clear his throat to indicate he heard the old man; he had been at Grace's bedside for a day without food and water (and Dumbledore knew this was unhealthy for the already thin man)and she had still not woken up. Her eye was now swollen and she had a good few bruises everywhere on her body. 

"You have to eat something, my boy." 

After a while, he replied, sullen, "I'll eat when I want. Grace needs to get better first."

"Are you, ah, saying Grace is your _top_ priority? Even though, just yesterday you were saying she shouldn't teach her and the boys shouldn't be staring at her. Why, Severus. You're staring at her the exact way the boys are!" 

Severus shook his head no and replied, "I have nothing but concern for the woman. I'm worried she was...sexually harmed by one of the students. We're just waiting for the test results. But do you see those bruises on her neck and face? And when Poppy examined her, she had what we _think_ was semen around her legs, but we couldn't be sure."

"I see. Well, will you please let me know--"

"No need, Albus," Poppy interrupted, walking out her office with a bundle of parchment in her hand. She looked sadly from Albus, to Severus, to the limp body of Grace sleeping on the bed. "Professors, I want you to take a look at this, please." She set the parchment down on Grace's bedside table and sighed. She flipped through some, landing on one with fingerprints. "I ran a few standard tests along with the ones we needed, like fingerprintsandjust the normaltests.Well, when her fingerprints showed, I realized that I recognized them; they are Hermione Granger's fingerprints. Exact same, Headmaster, for the tests do not lie," she added, noticing the disbelieving look on Dumbledore's face. 

Severus remained seated in his chair, and if he hadn't been so shocked, he probably would've jumped out his chair and cried, "WHAT!" Instead, he detached himself from every emotion concerning Grace...or Hermione?

Before anyone could say anything else, however, the woman's body stirred and she opened her good eye, yawning. All Severus could think about was that the woman's breath stunk from being closed and un-brushed for a whole day.

Standing up from the chair he had restricted himself to, Severus swept past the Dumbledore. "I need to go." The girl - yes a girl, as she was no longer a woman in his eyes - had deceived him. She had deceived them all. He paused. _'But why had she deceived them? Because she wanted to humiliate me, that's all it was. Potter and Weasley are in it too.'_ Severus continued onto his chambers. Snarling as the paintings nearby began whispering. Lowering the wards he stormed in and sank into his favourite chair. Summoning a glass of Ogden's best.

Resigning himself for a night of blurred numbness, he poured his first glass, lit the fire and set back to relax.

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A/N: Wow, thank you for the awesome reviews you guys gave! I encourage you to give me more encouragement though, haha. Hope you all liked this bit. And it might've come out a little later than usual, but I'm definitely going to try and update a little faster! Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Hope you review again... and again... and again... and again...


	9. Revelations

Under My Skin

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: All characters except for a few belong to JK Rowling.

A/N: I'M BACK!

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"Whaa…"

"Relax, Miss…erm…"

"What do we call her?" asked Ronald Weasley harshly.

"Now, Mr. Weasley…Harry, will you please run up to Professor Snape's quarters and inform him that…_she_…is awake fully now."

"Yes, Professor." Harry sped off quickly out of the infirmary.

Ron, Professor Dumbledore, and Madame Pomfrey all looked at the woman in question on the bed thoughtfully. Who was she? They were all completely dumbfounded and just could _not_ believe this could be their once beloved friend and pupil. The Hermione Granger they knew could never pull something like this off, let alone deceive them.

"Professor," Madame Pomfrey interrupted everyone's thoughts. "Has her husband been contacted?"

"Oh, no, Poppy, as they are no longer husband and wife I thought it would be best not to inform him. But if you insist…"

"No, Professor, that was a good choice. Well, as much as this is baffling me, I have other patients here." She left brusquely with a backward glance at the limp, sweaty body of…the woman.

This woman (Grace, Hermione, it had not been official as to who she was yet) was hearing the voices of her companions through muffled ears. She could barely understand any of the words and all she thought about was a big bowl of chocolate. Yes, chocolate…that's what she really wanted more than anything in this world.

"Miss…Lopez," Dumbledore whispered carefully. "Grace" did not look up, but merely grunted in acknowledgement. "I'm going to give you a potion. Trust me, it will not harm you, so you mustn't refuse it. Just let it slide."

He was a bit surprised she complied so easily. Ron watched with bemusement as Dumbledore took a colorless vial out of the many folds of his robe, uncorked it, and tipped the liquid on "Grace's" lips. When she swallowed it, her eyes opened a bit wider and lost the wild, misty expression on her face.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore asked sternly.

"Hermione Granger."

The answer hung silently in the infirmary, bouncing off the stone walls and reverberating in Dumbledore's and Ron's ears. They looked at each other bewildered and back at Hermione. Truth serum never lies.

"Wait. Professor Snape should hear this…"

"I'm here, Dumbledore," Snape said quietly behind him. He went up to Hermione's bed stealthily and made a motion as if he was going to put his hand over her's on the bed, and instead thought better of it. He sat down on the hard chair he had spent so many sleepless hours in just the night before and stared at her intently.

Harry joined them a few minutes later. "I…" he panted, "Snape practically…flew here, to tell you the truth. I couldn't keep…up with him."

Snape smirked, still staring at Hermione. "Continue please, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore then asked, "Do you remember anything in the last few weeks?"

"Yes," she responded hoarsely. "I was under a glamour, and my assumed name was Grace Vasquez. I was to teach at Hogwarts, away from my husband, as an Arithmacy teacher. I was forced to write him letters every day and tell him exactly what happened. He was furious when he found out I was…"

"Go on!" Snape pressured.

"…in love with Severus Snape, the Potions Master. He was enraged, to say the least, and he came up to Britain and attacked poor Minerva McGonagall. I couldn't stop him. He's a monster."

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A/N: Short chapter, I know. I hope you will all forgive me for such a looooong time coming update. Hope you like!


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